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(Photo by Yoshihito Morita/Stripes Japan)
Fifteen years have passed since the catastrophic East Japan Earthquake struck the northern Tohoku Region on March 11, 2011.
The unprecedented 9.0-magnitude earthquake, subsequent tsunami, and Fukushima nuclear power plant meltdown caused significant damage nationwide. In the aftermath, 15,900 were dead, 2,523 missing, and 6,157 were injured.
To mark the anniversary of this tragic event, locals gathered at Kabushima Shrine and neighboring beach in Hachinohe City near Misawa Air Base.
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Kabushima Shrine (Photo by Yoshihito Morita/Stripes Japan)
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(Photo by Yoshihito Morita/Stripes Japan)
Shinto priests conducted a traditional ritual at the memorial and participants offered prayers at exactly 2:46 p.m. the time when 15 years earlier the initial Earthquake occurred.
According to Yoshihito Morita, a Misawa Air Base Commissary employee who participated in the event, the tsunami of 2011 swept through the shrine’s large torii gate climbing up to the middle of the stone stairsteps.
In Aomori Prefecture, which Misawa AB calls its home, three were killed and one is still missing due to the devastation.
Though it has been 15 years since the country suffered the natural disaster, the commitment to not forget those lost during the tragic earthquake and tsunami continues today.
